Boat races are an indispensible part of Dragon Boat Festival. To give city kids a chance to participate in the tradition, Taipei Arena for the first time organized a boat race on land. Over 100 people signed up to race boats on foot, filling the arena with laughter as kids too short to reach the ground fell overboard while their competitive parents rushed ahead.

For the first time, Taipei Arena held a dragon boat race on land. Three “boats” set off at the same time, only for one to become immediately stranded.

All moving in unison, the team surges forward full speed ahead.

Another team is held together only by their mom. On this one, they fell overboard. One kid grasps the dragon’s head while sobbing, much to his mom’s amusement.

Participant
Kids and adults have to work together. When we go too fast, they can’t get their footing and fall overboard.

To propel the boat forward, participants need to shuffle their legs through five checkpoints. Afterward, they can play games, stand eggs on end, or catch dumplings.

Participant
You have to wiggle back and forth to row the boat. It’s so fun. It’s not in the water, it’s on land.

Participant
I just raced on the red dragon. I fell over, but was able to get back up by myself.

The event drew 18 teams with over 100 participants. Since it was just for fun, no scores or times were recorded. Many came with the entire family in matching outfits.

Participant
This kind of holiday event for families isn’t held very often anymore. Kids are all growing up in the city. I figured since it’s a team event, we should have uniforms to boost our morale.

Lu Yu-ju
Taipei Arena operations director
People think that only concerts are held here at Taipei Arena. We wanted to show people that there are more events they can take part in. So for Dragon Boat Festival, we organized this race to teach kids the origins of the festival.

The event brought festival cheer to the city. It earned high praise from participants, who said they’d like to come back again next year.

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